


Bedtime Stories

by dizzy



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 13:18:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/598202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/pseuds/dizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this after seeing the video where Darren talks about going from LA to New York for the Toys for Tots concert then back to LA to be ready for filming at six am the next morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bedtime Stories

"I need sleep." Darren says as soon as Chris answers the phone. 

"Then sleep," Chris answers. "That's my plan for the night, shockingly enough." 

Indeed, he's already in bed, tucked under the covers with his knees up and his laptop resting against them. 

"I can't. Fucking. Sleep." Darren bites out each word, sounding exhausted and a little bit miserable. "There are a shit ton of people in my house because apparently I forgot about a get together." 

Chris frowns. "Where are you now?" 

"Sitting in my driveway seriously thinking about getting a hotel room if you won't take my sorry ass in." 

"Darren." Chris is exasperated. "You haven't even asked, you realize that?"

"I was hinting. That was a hint." A muffled noise passes close to the speaker. "Hold on." 

Chris can't hear the exchange, but after a couple of sentences between them he hears Darren saying goodbye and then Darren's car starts. Chris can hear the moment when the car's bluetooth takes over. "You back?" Chris asks. 

"Yeah. Just, talk to me while I drive? I'm afraid I'm gonna pass out otherwise. Shouldn't have sent the driver home." 

"Driver?" Chris asks. "Where were you?"

"... New York." 

"What? I saw you last night-" 

"Yeah, I flew out this morning, did a concert, and came back. That charity thing I mentioned?"

"That was in _New York_? You are insane," Chris declares. 

"Aren't you the guy that did a full day of press after eleven hours of ice skating and a morning of filming before that?" Darren snaps back. "Sorry. I'm... shit. Sorry."

Chris ignores the attitude, actually hearing the raw exhaustion behind Darren's voice for the first time. It takes a lot to wear Darren out. "Have you eaten?" He asks, putting the laptop aside. 

"I had a muffin like... before the plane left JFK. And some pretzels on the plane." 

"So, no." He tugs pajama pants on over his boxer briefs and walks barefoot and shirtless into his kitchen, opening his fridge. "Turkey melt?"

There's silence on Darren's end. 

"You still there?" Chris asks. 

"I really fucking love you," Darren finally says.

Chris laughs. "I'll take that as a yes." 

*

Darren slumps at Chris's kitchen table with his head in his hands, dozing lightly while Chris grills the sandwiches. 

He startles when Chris puts the plate down in front of him, but then tears into it. A fourth of the sandwich is gone in one bite, Darren's cheeks puffing out as he chews. "Did I mention I love you?"

"Be careful. You say that often enough and I'll take you seriously." Chris sits on the edge of the table and reaches out to scratch his fingers through Darren's hair. It's a little oily and definitely hasn't been brushed in a while but Chris isn't really bothered. Darren leans into it, stuffing another oversized bite into his mouth. 

"Make me another sandwich like this and I might want you to," Darren says, mouth half full. 

Chris makes a face and gets up, popping open a can of diet coke and sliding it over to Darren before getting one for himself. "You don't think everyone would have left if you'd just said you needed sleep?"

Darren shrugs. "I don't want to be that asshole." 

Of course Darren doesn't. Of course Darren is the kind of guy who will vacate his own house willingly even though he's in desperate need of sleep, just because he wants his friends to keep having a good time. 

Chris feels a swell of affection and emotion for Darren that is reserved for very few people in his life. "What time should I set the alarm for?" 

"Have to be on set at six." 

It's almost midnight; if Darren falls asleep right away, he can maybe get five hours of sleep. Chris knows Darren well enough to know that he can usually operate on that, but Darren doesn't usually skirt the edges of absolute burn out like this. He wishes he could find some way to stretch out the hours and really let him rest. 

"Leave it," Chris says, gesturing toward the plate when Darren is done. Darren gets up onto his feet and immediately sways. Chris rolls his eyes and puts an arm around Darren's waist. "Drama queen." 

"Just wanted to cop a feel," Darren mumbles. 

"You charmer." Chris squeezes him in a little closer. Darren rests his head on Chris's shoulder and lets Chris lead him down the hall to Chris's bedroom. 

Darren doesn't question it at all, just flops down on the bed. He turns his face into the pillow and then rolls back over to look at Chris through half-shut eyes. "This is... your bed." 

"No sheets in the guest room," Chris says. It's true, technically. He could go put sheets on it... or he could let Darren stay in _his_ bed, and frankly, one of those is much more appealing. To Chris, at least. "That okay?"

"Well, you did make me dinner first," Darren mumbles, smiling. He's scruffy and rumpled and so delicious looking right now that it makes Chris's mouth water a little bit. "But it's very forward of you to get me in bed without even kissing me first." 

Chris leans down impulsively and presses a kiss to Darren's mouth. "Better?" 

Darren grins. "Yeah. Whole lot better." 

"Okay, shoes off," Chris orders. He reaches over and plucks Darren's glasses off of his face, folding them and putting them on the nightstand. "And... do you have something to sleep in?" 

"My suitcase is in the car, but..." Darren whines at the idea of having to move. "Can I just strip? I'm wearing underwear. Do you mind?" 

"Do I mind you being mostly naked in my bed?" Chris lifts an eyebrow. "Think about that for a second." 

Darren tilts his head back and laughs, deep and throaty. "God, you're good for my ego, man." 

Chris watches Darren turn undressing into a horizontal dance, shimmying and wiggling and yanking on cloth until he flops back, one hand over his bared stomach. 

"Under the covers now," Chris orders, turning off the overhead light with one lingering look at Darren's body. Fuck, even his thighs are hot. Who has hot thighs? Darren Criss, that motherfucker. "Good boy." 

"Ooh, kinky," Darren mumbles. 

"How are you still awake?" Chris gets in bed. He could be polite and go sleep on the couch, but... no, he's really not that polite at all. 

"I think I'm too tired to sleep." Darren sighs, and in the streetlight coming in through the window Chris can see him rubbing his hands over his eyes. "This sucks." 

"You just need to relax," Chris says. 

"Touch me." 

Chris is pretty sure he misheard that. "What?" 

"Just, like..." Fumbling in the dark, Darren grabs Chris's hand and guides it... up, to his head. "It felt good earlier. When you did that. Relaxing and shit. Touch me." 

Okay, Chris is definitely glad he didn't follow his first impulse upon hearing those words  He doesn't mind this either, though. It's actually kind of nice. Really nice. Darren turns over onto his stomach, head turned toward Chris and eyes slipping shut. Chris takes advantage to turn the light petting into a massage, rubbing his fingers hard into the knots of tension along Darren's neck and rubbing in slow circles just under his ears. He thinks he can tell when Darren is mostly asleep because his body relaxes even more into the mattress but he also starts making these hot as fuck little noises, whining and whimpering when Chris finds a new knot to work on. 

Then the noises fade and a faint snore takes its place. Chris lets his hand stroke down Darren's naked back just once before he does the nice thing and stops touching. He ignores that he's half-hard and turns over, grabbing his phone so he can set the alarm. 

He's surprised to find that he's actually sort of tired himself now, so he turns onto his side and watches Darren until he starts to drift off himself. 


End file.
